“Fight it tooth and nail”“Pelear con uñas y dientes”

“Fight it tooth and nail”

Immigrant advocates knock Trump refugee plan

“Being reunited with her is a feeling I can’t explain,” recalled Ana Hernández, with her daughter Alison.

Ana Hernández spent five years separated from her daughter.

Hernández, who had immigrated from El Salvador, said those years apart were excruciating.

“It was too difficult. I didn’t know if she was sick or eating well,” she said.

Her daughter Alison was not safe in San Salvador, the country’s capital, where she lived with family.

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It also has one of the world’s highest homicide rates, and its residents have long been buffeted by gang violence.

According to the Human Rights Watch’s 2019 World Report, “Gangs continued in 2018 to exercise territorial control and extort residents in municipalities throughout the country. They forcibly recruit children and subject some women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals to sexual slavery. Gangs kill, disappear, rape, or displace those who resist them, including government officials, security forces, and journalists.”

Children, in particular, are vulnerable.

According to the same report: “In 2017, 46 girls and 311 boys were murdered, according to the Institute of Legal Medicine, and at least 20 girls and 14 boys were disappeared, according to the Attorney General’s Office. Judges absolved rapists of children as young as 12, if they “formed a home” or had a child together. In August 2017, the Legislative Assembly prohibited marriage below the age of 18 in all circumstances, ending an exception for pregnant girls.”

“Refugee resettlement has never been a political issue,” said HIAS New York Director Alla Shagalova.

Hernández and daughter were finally brought together again in 2017, when the latter came to the United States as a child refugee in 2017.

“Being reunited with her at the airport is a feeling I can’t explain,” recalled Ana. “To be with her, to hug her.”

But the experience is one that soon might not be possible for other refugee families seeking entry to the United States.

Hernández joined with advocates on July 19 at the New York Immigration Center (NYIC) to denounce published reports that the the Trump administration is planning for a near-shutdown of refugee admissions in 2020.

On July 18, Politico published a report that the government is slashing the number of admitted refugees to nearly zero, citing three people familiar with the plan.

“There would be 200 years of humanitarian tradition thrown out because this administration wants to make America white again,” charged NYIC Executive Director Steven Choi. “But refugees make New York and all of America stronger.”

The number of refugees allowed into the U.S. was capped last year at 30,000 – a far cry from the cap of 110,000 that existed under the Obama administration.

Advocates said that cutting off refugee admissions would strand thousands of people already involved in the process.

There are about 10,000 people who are have been approved for resettlement and are ready to travel, and an additional 30,000 who have already passed their Department of Homeland Security (DHS) interviews, said Kelly Agnew-Barajas, Director of Refugee Resettlement for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of NY.

The number of refugees allowed into the U.S. was capped last year at 30,000.Photo: HIAS

“There’s already a robust number that would be ready to be resettled and they would not be able to come,” she said.

“People should be allowed to live in safety and be together,” said Agnew-Barajas. “Discussions of zeroing out refugee admissions is an attack on our values as Americans. We would be telling the most vulnerable that they are not welcome here.”

“It’s not only the refugee system at risk, it’s the asylum system as well,” added Choi, who called on New Yorkers to call their Senators and Congressmembers to “make sure they are full-throatedly opposing this move and will fight it tooth and nail.”

He noted there will be a National Day of Action on August 3 for immigrant rights.

Choi said that the Trump administration was expected to officially submit its refugee plan sometime in August.

“The shame of this is that we already have a system of ultra-extreme vetting for refugees,” he said. “The amount of interviews, the background checks that happen… the idea that the President has peddled that people are simply coming here with no vetting whatsoever is a flat-out lie, and it is really a tragedy for people who have been waiting for years and risked their lives.”

“There would be 200 years of humanitarian tradition thrown out,” said NYIC’s Steven Choi (center).

Among those present was State Senator Luis Sepúlveda, who denounced President Trump directly.

“This President has demonstrated he is a racist and cares very little about human suffering. People fleeing violence and persecution are being treated like criminals,” said Sepúlveda. “Shame on you, Donald Trump. Refugees, asylum seekers and all immigrants are welcome here.”

Founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in 1881, the nonprofit HIAS has sought to help “refugees find welcome, safety, and freedom.”

During the press conference, the organization’s New York Director Alla Shagalova spoke about her family’s own refugee experience.

“My family came under a Republican administration 30 years ago,” said Shagalova. “This was not unusual. Until now, refugee resettlement has never been a political issue. The United States had been a symbol of freedom and compassion.”

For Hernández, the possible elimination of the policies that facilitated a new life with her daughter was troubling.

“We’re a real case that benefited from this refugee program,” she said.

“There are many fathers, mothers, children waiting to be together,” noted Hernández. “I was in the same situation. There are many divided families.”

A National Day of Action for immigrant rights is planned for August 3 by advocates including New York Immigration Center (NYIC). For more information, please visit nyic.org.

Make the call.

Help is available.

In response to the increased need of immigrant families, the Catholic Charities city-wide and state-wide hotlines are staffed and activated. There will be real-time legal support provided by CCNY’s attorneys and volunteers for callers in need of emergency help. The hotline numbers aacre the Catholic Charities New York State New Americans Hotline: 800.566.7636 and the Catholic Charities ActionNYC Hotline: 800.354.0365.

“Being reunited with her is a feeling I can’t explain,” recalled Ana Hernández, with her daughter Alison.

“Refugee resettlement has never been a political issue,” said HIAS New York Director Alla Shagalova.

The number of refugees allowed into the U.S. was capped last year at 30,000.
Photo: HIAS

“There would be 200 years of humanitarian tradition thrown out,” said NYIC’s Steven Choi (center).

“People should be allowed to live in safety and be together,” said Kelly Agnew-Barajas.

“People fleeing violence and persecution are being treated like criminals,” said State Senator Luis Sepúlveda.

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